Going Solo In Baler Philippines

Going Solo In Baler Philippines 

Yes, I admit it. It scared me but I did it anyway. It was pretty exciting considering this is my first solo trip. I've decided to go on my own when I had the chance to visit Manila for some reason and a Wohoooo side trip to Baler. OMG, I missed surfing and my feet are kicking to ride the surfboard again! 

Baler is one of the best surfing spots in the Philippines. It is located in Central Luzon, one of the municipalities in the province of Aurora. It is accessible by private cars and public buses coming from Manila. The capital is blessed with an abundance of tourist attractions such as picturesque waterfalls, lush greenery of mountainsides, and panoramic beaches. Baler is the best place to escape the busy life in the city. Let's go!

Travel Tips: How to Get There (By Bus)

1. Take either Genesis Bus & Joy Bus located at Cubao, Quezon City Terminal. This place is known to locals so you can simply ask for directions where the Genesis Terminal is located. Or from Manila, you can ride a bus going to Cubao and inform the driver to drop you off in the Terminal for the Genesis Buses.

2. Joy Buses accepts advance reservations which I recommend especially when you are traveling during the weekend, holiday season, or peak timings. Baler is one of the perfect short getaway destinations and the volume of passengers is expected to rise during these times. You can make your advance bookings at Pinoy Travel.

3. Genesis Buses does not need any advance reservations but you need to be there early than your desired schedule to secure a seat, sometimes the queue can be very long. 

4. The trip to Baler Aurora from Cubao starts at 12 midnight until 7 in the morning. Check out Joy bus timings. The scheduled trips shown online are for Joy Bus deluxe trips which start at 12:30-5:30am. Genesis bus starts at 12midnight till 7am which is not shown online and need not be reserved in advance. 

5. Trip duration is approximately 6 hours. On my trip, we left Cubao station Terminal at 1am and reached Baler at 5:30 in the morning. 

6. Booked in advance for your return trip to secure your seat as the bus can get full especially during weekends & peak season.

7. Do follow up with the bus company if your bus reservation is on schedule. In my case, luckily, a friend called to reserve a return trip at the same time as mine and we found out that there was a technical issue with the bus, thus will be delayed. By knowing earlier, we were able to get the alternative route to get to the airport and just on time for my flight.

8. Alternative way to get to Manila is via Cabanatuan. Take an Aurora or Genesis Bus from Baler to Cabanatuan. Transfer bus from Cabanatuan to Pasay or Cubao. There are a few buses in Cabanatuan with 30 minutes bus intervals, so not much to worry about when you miss the bus. 

9. Always be prepared for heavy traffic jams. In our case, we left Baler at 10:30am arrived in Cabanatuan at 2:30pm. We took the bus to Pasay immediately. Along the way, there was a heavy traffic jam because of a certain dance parade taking most of the main road. We reached Manila around 7pm. 

10. When you arrive in Manila and rush to the airport, taking the bus all the way to Pasay is not a good option. Take the taxi instead or take the MRT to avoid the traffic. I alighted in Monuz, took a taxi immediately to the airport and I was able to catch my flight at 9:30pm. I’ve arrived just in time for my flight. Unfortunately, my flight schedule was delayed from 9:30pm it was changed to 2:30am the next day, 5 hours delayed! If I knew that, I could have been more relaxed in my travel back to the city. The thing is we don't know what's ahead of us, it’s always better to be prepared for some bad lucks along the way. After all, it's all about turning bad experiences into great ones! 

Check-in: The Circle Hostel Baler

500-550 PHP per night for female/male dorm/mixed dorm

Day tour  & Surfing lesson

Surf lesson with instructor includes surfboard:  350 PHP /hour

Surfboard rental only: 200 PHP /hour

1-day tour ( with transportation, 1 tricycle ride): 800 PHP, good for 4 person

Solo tour: 700 PHP

Tour Instructor Kuya Joel 09309386351 

Happy Traveling! Cheers!

A few words from my Guest Blogger:

Hi, my name is Ahdy, a civil engineer by profession, an aspiring full-time stock trader in the future, a mountaineer, a marathoner & a backpacker by passion. I love to travel- taking on new experiences and life adventures. My ultimate goal in life is to be happy and worry-free - living life to the fullest. Wishing everybody to have a healthy & happy life. Follow your passion whatever it is. Cheers!!!

Read more of her travels: https://lifeissowonderfulliveit.wordpress.com/

All images by Ahdy

Have fun and be safe ^__^

Do you want more adventure?

I have here a list of all the extreme adventures for the past years. Maybe this year take a look at your bucket list and make some effort on doing it.

Where am I going next?

My next adventure is to Los Angeles, California and I have here a survival guide on how to go around the city.